Scorchfur's Prophecy
by CrimsonWarrior9785
Summary: In the clan that was once Thunderclan, things are rough. The clan's power-hungry leader has gone to great lengths to ensure that his clan is best; he has even been in contact with the Dark Forest. In the midst of this is born Scorchpaw, who has learned to be the strongest or suffer the wrath of a claw. But Starclan has a plan. A plan to which Scorchpaw is vital.
1. Chapter 1: The Dark Forest

A dark brown tom slid from the undergrowth, his green eyes glowing in the unnatural light. There were no stars or moon to cast a glow over the gnarled, dead trees. Fog coiled around the roots of the trees, parting with each of the tom's footsteps.

"Ah, Darkstar. You kept us waiting long enough." The cat who spoke stepped from the fog and snarled.

The tom, Darkstar, was unfazed. "I care not about your anger and lies. They don't surprise me. The Dark Forest is a place of evil." His tail stirred the fog which had just begun to settle around the two. "I am well aware."

"You're no fun," growled the second cat, taking a seat. He licked a black paw and chewed a long, vicious-looking claw.

"We have a deal, recall? A plan?" Darkstar said coolly. "Or had you forgotten, Crowstar?"

"I have not. And perhaps I should find another living cat to corrupt. You are proving more and more horrible as the days go by."

Darkstar's whiskers twitched. This cat thought he was better than Darkstar, just because he himself was _dead? _What a ridiculous notion. "You will find no cat more devoted to your cause than myself," Darkstar meowed.

"Our personal disagreements aside," Crowstar began, but despite the peaceable statement, the look in his eyes said: _remember, I'll kill you once and I'll kill you again once you get here. _"Starclan is working against us."

"Obviously," Darkstar said with a snort.

Crowstar chose to ignore Darkstar's arrogance for the moment. "We must begin the take over, or risk being taken over ourselves."

Darkstar considered for a moment. "Do you know any of their plans?"

This time, it was Crowstar's turn to be arrogant. "If I had known would I have not told you? You think I am so stupid, and yet your head is so obviously filled with cobwebs."

"Think that if you wish," Darkstar commented curtly. "But I shall not stand for any arrogance…" He dragged the word out obnoxiously. "Except that of my own, which is well justified."

With that, Darkstar turned and faded into the fog and shadow.

Claws slashed Scorchpaw's muzzle, reopening the shallow wounds from the day before. Blood spattered the ground beside her.

She turned to hide the pain on her face from Lionscratch, her mentor. However, he only took this as a further sign of weakness. "You little disgrace," he snarled. "Darkstar expects more from you. The day you were born, he said you held great promise. He was right. Great promise," he paused. "Of _failure_."

For all his supposed skill in battle, Lionscratch could be a real mousebrain. His comments no longer stung nearly as much as his claws. Scorchpaw stood and shook droplets of blood onto the snow.

She tensed for Lionscratch's attack. It came, and the training session was back on. Scorchpaw's life had gone this way for many moons. Apprenticed at the early age of four moons, she learned young to be the strongest or be beaten. And she was the strongest, at times. At others, she was beaten.

**So how did you like chapter one? I'd love to hear your thoughts. I have a lot planned for this story but I figured I wouldn't give you a headache with an endless page of typed words. I'll try to keep the chapters short.**

**CrimsonWarrior9785**


	2. Chapter 2: Starclan

Scorchpaw licked her forepaw, wincing as she ran her tongue over a vicious bite from Lionscratch. She was sitting quietly in a patch of grass at the edge of the grass, watching her clanmates go about the day.

Scorchpaw didn't have any friends. Other cats had a rather strange impression of her. Sometimes, they were intimidated by her, and at other times, they looked down on her with scorn. So they had begun to simply ignore her, and throw her an insult as they walked past if she hadn't done well in training. No matter what her clanmates thought of her, there was one cat she had always been mutual acquaintances with. Her brother, Mintpaw.

From his name, he didn't sound like much. But if you saw him, you knew he was the best apprentice in the lot. His light gray fur was sleek and well groomed. His green eyes shown with fierceness. His muscles rippled under his thick pelt when he moved. Many of the she-cats admired him. Scorchpaw, being his sister, actually thought him to be kind of… cold.

He came across the clearing to her, silhouetted by the fading light. Scorchpaw was proud of him, a feeling she'd never had for another cat.

He sat down, shaking snow from his paws. "Hate snow," he grumbled. He had never been one for talking. Or full sentences.

Scorchpaw nodded in agreement. The silence that followed was so long and dull, she went to bed early.

Insects hummed in her ears, but didn't buzz about her pelt annoyingly. That was wonderful. She had always liked the quiet sound of bugs and crickets and such, but she couldn't stand them making her skin crawl.

The landscape was too perfect. The hills rolled gently and thick, green trees surrounded the lush clearing. Suddenly, Scorchpaw was well aware that this was a dream, and the best dream she'd ever had.

"I've told you once and I…" A golden tom stumbled from the undergrowth, grumbling. He trailed off when he saw Scorchpaw. "Well you're not Foxblossom."

"No," Scorchpaw said, cocking her head to one side.

"That's your cue, young'un. You're supposed to tell me your name there," the cat said, grumbling again. Did this cat ever do anything else?

"Oh. I'm Scorchpaw of Darkclan."

"That's not a clan, young'un. It's called Thunderclan, and it was once entirely respectable. I'm Goldwhisker, since you didn't ask."

Scorchpaw glared at him. This cat really ruffled her fur.

"No need for that, young'un. I'm not particularly fond of you either. But you're in Starclan for a reason. So you could be a bit more polite to your ancestors," Goldwhisker responded.

Scorchpaw moved on as if he had never said anything. Being polite wasn't one of her strong suits. "What was all that nonsense about er, was it Thunderclan?"

"You'll learn about that later. But for now…" Goldwhisker stepped a bit closer, whispering now so that his breath ruffled her ear fur. "Remember, fire can destroy the dark."

With that, the dream faded, and Scorchpaw was back in her nest, with cold dawn light seeping through the cracks in the apprentice den. Something was wrong. An air of trouble had settled over the camp.


End file.
